The present invention pertains to a vehicle subassembly for an automobile or other suitable motor vehicle. More particularly, the present invention pertains to motor vehicle pillar assemblies and to the associated trim panel or panels useful in regions such as the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The present invention pertains particularly to trim panels used in regions proximate to side curtain airbags.
Inflatable restraint devices commonly called airbags are standard equipment on most new vehicles. Initially, vehicles were equipped with airbags that would deploy from forward-facing regions such as the steering wheel and the passenger side of the instrument panel. As consumer's concerns for safety have increased, additional airbags have been employed in different areas of the vehicle. Side-curtain airbags have been proposed to compensate for the lack of a crush zone and energy dissipation capacity in the sides of vehicles. Side-curtain airbags have been employed or stored in areas of the roof rail and headliners or in the side doors. These airbag devices are typically concealed from occupant view by interior trim panels associated with the roof rod and/or headliner.
Interior trim panels concealing the airbag devices should be capable of permitting rapid egress of the airbag during the deployment event. The interior trim panels should also maintain aesthetic appeal during general vehicle operation. It is also desirable that these vehicle trim panels provide a measure of inherent crush protection in the event of a crash event.
These challenges are particularly accentuated in the design of trim panels such as those used on various structural pillars in an automotive vehicle. Such pillars can include, but are not limited to, A pillars, B pillars, C pillars, and the like. These pillars and the associated trim panels present the added challenges of limited space and as well as being located in positions proximate to the driver and passengers. Heretofore, side-curtain airbags have been deployed from trim panels located in the vehicle headliner proximate to the respective side of the vehicle. In order to enhance and promote deployment and protection in the event of a crash, certain vehicular body configurations could benefit from side-curtain airbag storage configurations and locations that use space defined between the respective auto body pillar and the trim panel. Given the desire to place accessory devices on the side pillar trim member, it would also be desirable to provide a trim panel member that could serve as a mounting for devices such as grip bars and the like while defining storage for at least a part of a side-curtain airbag.